Knight Run

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Knight Run is set in interstellar war between humans and monsters, and is very true to the nature and reality of war; it is a story full of the suffering and loss that always come with wars. While progress of the war is a significant part of the manhwa, the strongest element of Knight Run's plot is the characters' feelings and emotions; their drive and their priorities throughout the events of the story. Though there is still a heavy emphasis on fighting equipment, ships, and abilities, everything is detailed in almost every aspect.

The pace is somewhat slow, but constant throughout the entire manhwa, following mostly ... the life of Anne Meyer, a retired Knight, and flashbacks of her past with Pray, her closest friend, with whom she shared a unique bond with. There are quite a few other characters in the manga, with many related to the military whose main task is fighting monsters, though the central character is most certainly Anne, and everyone else is in some way connected to her.

While character development isn't perfect, their personalities and emotions feel very real, letting us see what is precious to all of them, the why for their existence evident in every action. Knight Run also maintains an excellent atmosphere; even when in peaceful areas, and during flashbacks of their treasured times, you can feel a tenseness in the atmosphere, that this peace is only a temporary reprieve, and that they would soon be thrown back into war; you never forget the nature of their position in this war-torn universe.

The only problem I've found with this manhwa is clarity; though this likely due to differences in language and imperfect translations, some parts of the manhwa can be difficult to comprehend and use somewhat confusing English. This is also magnified by the fact that some parts are quite wordy (it's mostly the text describing equipment, strategies, and monsters). There are also some often used Knight-Run specific terms that are expected to be known; you may have to intially take a look at the glossary to understand, but you'll know them if you ever get into this manhwa. The art may not suite most peoples' tastes, but it still has a nice style even if much of it isn't detailed.

This manhwa isn't for everyone, but overall, I found it very enjoyable. If you like a taste of a reality-filled story in a warring fantasy universe, I recommend taking a look at this manhwa.

This is the first time I have ever reviewed a manga / manhwa / webcomic but I was so amazed by Knight Run and that fact it has hardly got any reviews, so I decided to write one my self.

The story is fast paced and arced brilliantly as to allow for really good character development. It has god like battle scenes and does not shy away from the occasional bout's of genocide but somehow retains this endearing story between the 2 main protagonists.

Usually I stay away from short manga's / manhwa / webcomic because I find they are over to quickly but this gives you ... a real feeling of progression and is well balanced.

DO NOT MISS THIS!!! MUST READ!!!!

Let me start off this review by saying, this is my favorite story. Period. This includes all of the manga, anime, shows, and novels I have read so far.

I was originally pushed away by this manwha after I looked at it's subpar ratings and how distracted I got by how much text there is. When I finally came back to it, I forced myself to read a bit more, after that it was impossible to make me put it down. The story constantly puts you through a rollercoaster of emotions, which makes you feel attached to the character and grow with them, which made me ... cry numerous times throughout the story. The story was so good that I immediately read the first arc again, mainly just to witness the absolutely amazing ending.

At this time I had finished the first arc and began to move on to the second. The second arc completely threw me off by moving on to a whole new cast of characters that I had no knowledge of in the first arc. I did the same thing again and decided to stop reading it due to it being so different than the first arc. When I made the great choice of finishing the second arc, I was astonished. The second arc's story trumped that of the first with characters that originally meant nothing to me, and with a plot that was irrelevant to the first one.

Sadly this manwha doesn't have too big of a fanbase, so WEBTOON naver discontinued the translation of Knight Run after the second arc was translated. I want everyone to read this amazing story so you can experience what I did, as well as create a bigger community for this so that other translators will pick it up some day.

If I were to describe Knight Run quickly to someone it would be "Halo meets star wars with an amazing personal story of tragedy and loss". So if that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, look elsewhere.

This is a review of the first season. (first 76 chapters) It might seem odd to only review a part of the manga, but I believe that the first season holds up well on it's own as a self contained story that ties up everything very well with a fantastic, satisfying ending. In fact the ending was so satisfying for me that I felt no urge to continue ... reading the subsequent seasons which has never happened to me for something I really enjoyed reading. (I will still read the new seasons, but my point is that the first season of Knight Run is best enjoyed on it's own as a self contained story imo)

Pros:
- Fantastic ending
- Very well fleshed out relationship between the two main characters
- Great flashback scenes that flesh out the characters and their pasts very nicely
- Interesting sci-fi, space opera setting and pretty good world-building
- The story has a very epic, large scale feel
- Very good at building up tension and threat of the enemy (You never get bored thinking the good guys will win easily)
- The art and action scenes are amazing when it counts
- Great 1v1 and sword action
- Mature depiction of war

Neutral:
- Large cast of supporting characters that are pretty cool, but never really fleshed out (main focus is on the main characters)
- Art can be hit or miss (miss is mostly in space battles and large scale battles)
- Scenes switch between multiple viewpoints and between present and past a lot which makes it easy to get lost, but if you don't get lost and manage to follow along it makes for a more interesting story structure and read imo.

Cons:
- There are a lot of sci-fi terms and names specific to the manga that are thrown at you without explanation that compounded with a pretty terrible English translation makes it hard to follow what is going on sometimes.
- The timing of the flashback scenes is quite poor and sudden, sometimes you don't even notice that a flashback is happening (tip: pay attention for the white to black background panel colour transition which signifies that a flashback scene is happening)
- Large scale space battles are a mess (especially the art) and it's very hard to follow what is going on

Knight Run is, if it has to be summed up, epic fights between awesome looking characters wielding supernatural weapons in fights with high stakes.

The character design and proportions are on spot. I never felt like there was something out of place and the alines are truly alien in their images. The space ships have unique designs and the perspecitves of destroyed landscapes, cities and shipwrecks is some of the best I have ever seen. The painting art style may seem crude at times but it really shines at setting atmospheres with the colour choices of the artist.

The characters have their own backstories, motivations, ... hopes and dreams, there are no characters that feel like they are made out of card board, even those that never utter a single line.

The story itself, the first arc being finished, and the second currently ongoing, is superb. It was near impossible to not feel bad about the antagonist.

The finale of the first arc was a bit of a tear jerker, with the story coming to a dramatic and well defined end.
However, the author continues the story on that high level.
The second arc was, so far, incredible, with its ups and downs.
Especially the 'My Hero' bit.

The only bad thing about is, is that it gets pretty emotional at times, so I can't just binge read it all.

Knight Run’s rough art and text-heavy nature make it a hard series to get into, but I’m extremely glad I gave this one a chance and followed through. It’s a powerful story with some excellent central characters, and the author’s use of visual symbolism in key panels is second to none. The setting is incredibly dark, and the series unflinchingly examines many difficult topics while also asking the question of how human beings can survive and persevere in a world that seems hell-bent on breaking them down. Everyone suffers, and hardly anyone ever gets a happy ending, but the grim atmosphere makes key moments of ... kindness and courage resonate all the more.

Currently, only the first two arcs have received an official translation. Fan translations cover arcs three through five, and will hopefully catch up to the original story someday.